The No Proscenium Podcast

This week we’re joined by Carmel Clavin of Spectacle & Mirth, who just wrapped a tour of two immersive works — Journey to the Kingdom of Hypnos and City Liminal — to talk about the challenges and opportunities of touring immersive work around the globe through the network of Fringe Festivals and beyond.And we break down the Badge Pricing and On-Sale dates for the 2025 Next Stage Immersive Summit.SHOW NOTESSpectacle & MirthBadge Pricing & On Sale Dates for the 2025 Next Stage Immersive Summit

This week we’re climbing The Ladder of success with Terry Pettigrew-Rolapp and Tommy Wallach of Hatch Escapes in Los Angeles as we talk about The Ladder, their long in development new game that turns escape game conventions on their ear and establishes itself as a new can’t miss immersive attraction. SHOW NOTESThe LadderHatch EscapesThe Immersive Industry Report SurveysThe Next Stage Summit ScholarshipsGhostRave (Use code GRPG for 10% off)

This week we heading to heaven and a galaxy far far away… sort of.The Heaven is Cowboix Hevvven, currently being built inside Meow Wolf’s RADIO TAVE in Houston, and we’re talking to Cole Bee Wilson, the creator of this new space which is Meow Wolf’s first fully functioning dive bar inside one of their exhibitions. We talk to Cole from just outside the worksite, in the middle of a busy build, and it’s a fantastic chat.Then we connect with Mike and Emily Hyde of Hyperspace Props, the popular crafters of cosplay elements and replica card game decks from Star Wars.We get into how this literal mom & pop operation got started, and how they've become a lynchpin for a fan community that has found their own way to immerse themselves into a galaxy of outlaws and scoundrels.SHOW NOTESMeow Wolf's Radio TaveCowboix Hevvven Hyperspace PropsThe Immersive Industry Report SurveysThe Next Stage 2025 Scholarships

Another double header!First up, today is iPhone pre-order day, and that makes it a great day to drop my interview from July with Adam Lisagor, the man behind Sandwich — the firm that got its start making ads for apps and companies big and small because of the the original iPhone and has gotten BACK into the app development game for the Vision Pro with the apps Television and Theatre — with the later being used to broadcast a live event captured in 3D and Spatial Audio at this June’s Apple World Wide Developer Conference.This conversation with Adam, whose work I have long admired, is one of the most philosophical I’ve had all year, and hopefully will give you a nice think about media and the tools we use to make and consume it.Then, NoPro’s roving correspondent Martin Gimenez brings us an on-site interview with On Site Opera’s  General Director & CEO Piper Gunnarson as its next and Artistic Director Sarah Meyers recorded at this year’s World Opera Forum and annual North American Opera Conference hosted by the LA Opera this past June. They dig into the past, present, and near future of the company, including the recently announced World Premiere of Lucidity which runs November 14-16 at Abrons Arts Center in New York City.SHOW NOTESSandwichTelevision (Apple Vision Pro)Theater (Apple Vision Pro)Video: playing with dalle3 images, luma image-to-video, and suno music. (X)How Sandwich streamed The Talk Show Live in 3D on Vision Pro (six colors)On Site OperaLucidityThe Next Stage 2025 Scholarship Applications

We kick off our Spooky Season 2024 coverage with an LA double header.First up: Justin Fix, Stephanie Turek, and Daniel Montgomery of JFI Productions are here with us to talk about the return of CREEP — the show that started it all for JFI and which has been one of the foundational rocks of LA’s Spooky Season for nearly a decade now.This year’s CREEP is a collaboration with the CBS series GHOSTS, and we’ll learn how that teamup is making a difference with the 2024 show.Then Matt Dorado — known to many in the LA scene for the Drunken Devil series of parties and the Live and DIne In LA supper club, returns with an all new venture: Monster Party. A more intimate affair than the days of Drunken Devil, Monster Party is set during the McCarthy Era Lavender Scare, as Dorado and his team weave together a horror tale from America’s LGBTQ history.SHOW NOTESCREEP x GHOSTSMonster Party

This week a doubleheader:Stephen Dobbie and Colin Nightingale of A Right/Left Project whose ORIGIN - A DEEP LISTENING EXPERIENCE is returning to London this September as part of London Design Week join us first. Stephen and Colin have been collaborators for two decades now, including their work with Punchdrunk stretching back to the early days of the storied companies. As a Right/Left Project they’re exploring new forms, iterating quickly, and have established their own signature style.Then we check in with PostCurious’ Rita Orlov and writer Lauren Bello about how their collaborations are going, with Bello’s The Morrison Game Factory currently in print from PostCurious.From high tech to the table top — we’ve got a wonderful spread this week for you on No Proscenium.SHOW NOTESA Right/Left ProjectORIGIN - A DEEP LISTENING EXPERIENCEPostCuriousThe Morrison Game Factory

This week we’ve got a really unique edition of the podcast because a year ago I messed up!Last August I interviewed Doug North Cook, the CEO & Creative Director at Creature a new VR video game studio & label that draws upon the team's deep roots in both video games and VR, and is using a model that means indie studios can get the benefits of working with a larger publisher without giving up control over their work.And then I forgot to share the interview!So we're making up for it by sharing that one and a new interview where we catch up with Doug now to talk the label's releases and the state of video games and VR gaming in what has become an inflection point of a year.SHOW NOTESCreatureStarship HomeThrasherSXSW Panel Picker: From Creator to Closer: Your Path to Greenlight

We’re celebrating this milestone the best way we know how — by getting members of NoPro’s esteemed Review Crew together to wax philosophical about the state of things in the immersive cosmos. This time out associate producer Parker Sela, New York City correspondent Nicholas Fortugno, and New England Curator Leah Davis join host Noah Nelson for a discussion that touches on the notions of “immersive before immersive” and “immersive after immersive” — and while we’re at it there are bits about Plastic Bag Store currently at MASS MOCA, Hatch Escape’s The Ladder, and Emursive’s Life and Trust.SHOW NOTESThe Plastic Bag Store at MASS MocaThe Power of Plastic Parody (REVIEW)Hatch Escape's The LadderLife And TrustNoPro's August CALL SHEET

This week: we’re back to the double header groove, first with a stop to chat with Aaron Blanton & Este Olivia, owners The Ghoulish Sanctuary, a Haunted Mansion inspired Airbnb in Kissimmee, Florida and then we look to the future with Corvas Brinkerhoff, one of the co-founders of Meow Wolf to talk about his new venture the in-development SUBMERSIVE, an immersive art spa that is planned to launch in Austin.  SHOW NOTESThe Ghoulish SanctuarySubmersive